Seamount League Class 3A Kennedy Catholic continued its process of learning and development in a 53-33 basketball loss to SPSL Class 4A Kentwood in the first round of the girls' division of the Les Schwab Christmas Classic held on the Kennedy campus in Burien on Thursday, December 29.
"The girls played hard and we had a lot of shots," said a confident Lancer coach John Barbee. "We're young and our goal is to keep getting better. There were a lot of shot opportunities created. We can spend more time in practice on the shooting. We got to the free throw line and did well. Pressing sometimes just had us out of position to rebound. If we make a few jump shots, we'll do better. Holding a good 4A team like Kentwood to 53 points meant we did a good job. There is still one more non league game. It's a long way to go (in league), but we'll get there."
Although the Conquerors' seeds of success were sown in the first half, the final fate of the Lancers was determined by third quarter action.
Myah Williams powered inside for a basket to draw Kennedy Catholic within 24-19 as the second half opened. Kentwood responded with a surge to reach a 29-20 lead, but three consecutive Williams points shaved the margin to six points.
From this point, the Conquerors regained their momentum and quick ball movement to fire off six consecutive points for a 36-23 lead going into the third quarter. The Lancers got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.
Williams scored a game-high 20 points to pace all scorers. Kennedy Catholic teammate Halle Davis hauled in seven rebounds.
Jenny Johnson played strongly inside to score 13 points while five-foot, four-inch Maddison Rankin and Kate Kramer scored eight points apiece as part of a well spread out Kentwood scoring effort. Nine out 10 Conquerors earned points.
First quarter action featured near mirror images of young teams hustling into scoring position before often losing the ball or missing good shot opportunities. Both teams used motion offense and full or half court defense to push the pace.
Six points by Williams helped the Lancers reach leads of 6-2 and 8-7, but three consecutive Conqueror points pushed them to an 11-8 lead after one quarter.
From the beginning of the game, turnovers and missed shots dominated the play. Quick footed Rankin fired up the Kentwood offense while Kylee Ashley provided inside punch, especially on the offensive boards, in a 13-5 Conqueror run that stretched the lead to 24-13.
Kelsey Abrejera, Diondra Bourgette and Williams collaborated for a 4-0 Lancer lightning strike to keep Kennedy Catholic within striking distance ahead of the second half Kentwood dominance.
